


Last Words

by A (AILiSeki)



Series: The Flammable Fragments [11]
Category: A Series of Unfortunate Events - All Media Types, A Series of Unfortunate Events - Lemony Snicket
Genre: Gen, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-26
Updated: 2019-01-26
Packaged: 2019-10-18 10:34:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,071
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17579228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AILiSeki/pseuds/A
Summary: The last words the Denouement brothers exchanged with each other.





	Last Words

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on [tumblr](https://virtualfindingsdocumented.tumblr.com/post/182320953229/the-denouements-and-last-words).

"A harpoon gun?" He asked.

"A harpoon gun." His brother answered.

"Are you sure a harpoon gun should be here at the reach of our enemies?"

"For our plan to work, we need our enemies to think they have the upper hand." His brother whispered.

"This is too risky. What if they find our plan? Who knows what they could do in the frustrated state it will leave them. They shouldn't have access to such a deadly weapon-"

"I know you don't like this, but it needs to be done."

In the dark lobby of the hotel, the clock struck midnight.  _Wrong! Wrong! Wrong! Wrong! Wrong! Wrong! Wrong! Wrong! Wrong! Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!_

"I have to go." His brother said, walking towards the elevator. Towards the shadows that were his home.

"D!" He called him. His brother turned his face to him as he pressed the elevator button. "Stay safe."

His brother smiled, before entering the elevator. He had a strange sensation, a feeling of dread that would follow him until the next night, when the terrible news came.

* * *

He showed the blueprints to his brother.

"And the heating system would allow the guests to enjoy the pool even when it's winter."

His brother examined it, face focused and unreadable.

"Wouldn't a gas heater increase the risk of fire?" His brother asked carefully. That was a genuine concern, especially in a time like that, but hearing it from his brother left a bitter taste in his mouth.

"We won't have to worry so much after Thursday." He whispered.

"Or so you believe." His brother whispered back.

Talking with his brother was always unpleasant. No matter what subject they discussed, it always ended up in a thick tension.

"I like your projects." His brother finally said, breaking just a little bit of it. That was new. "I wish we spent more time together discussing matters of the hotel like this."

"I wish so too." He admitted. "But you know well why we don't. You made your choices."

"You made your choices as well." His brother said. "Don't act as if everything that went wrong between us is my fault."

He sighed. Again and again, this argument, and again and again, it did nothing to mend the broken ties in their relationship. He loved his brother and he always would, but their trust had been broken again and again. Love alone couldn't make things right, not without trust.

A bell rang.

"Work calls." He told his brother, rolling the blueprints again. "Let's discuss this later. Maybe after all these unpleasant guests check out?"

His brother gave a small smile.

"Sounds good. I think Frank will be interested in this as well."

He nodded and watched his brother walk to the lobby.

* * *

"Call the fire department!" The eldest Baudelaire cried desperately.

"Which one?" His brother asked. To anyone else he may have sounded like he always did, but he knew his brother was at his limit. He was desperate.

He reached out his hand until he could gently grab his brother's arm.

"One of them has already failed." He whispered, lifting up his blindfold a bit. The so-called judges were gone. A few blindfolded people walked aimlessly. He could feel the faint scent of smoke in the air. "This is no figurative fire."

"This is your fault!" His brother spat at him.

"Do you really think I would do something like this?" He asked, feeling hurt at the accusation.

"You brought danger and treachery to our doorstep."

"Dewey brought danger and treachery to our doorstep." It was an awful thing to say, especially when their brother was not there to defend himself, but some truths are very awful and need to be said even so.

His brother couldn't even argue.

"Who has the sugar bowl?" His brother asked, sounding defeated.

"I don't know." He said. "It doesn't matter. We need to call help."

His brother ripped the blindfold from his face. The smoke was spreading quickly. He did the same.

"We can't let them escape."

"It doesn't matter." He tried to pull his brother towards the exit, that was so close. But his brother didn't want to leave yet.

"If you want to run away, then go. I still have a job to do."

"Stop trying to be a hero!" He said, removing his own blindfold completely.

"I'm not trying to be a hero." His brother said, calmly. "There is a fire. I'm a volunteer firefighter. This is my job."

As if to punctuate his words, the fire coming from below made its presence known. A couple of the people still wandered finally removed their blindfolds, while the rest just screamed.

"You are a damn hotel manager and a pretentious book nerd, that's all you are!" He shouted, before pulling his brother in his direction, sending them both to the floor in the process. A lone witness says he did so at the right time, as the spot where his brother previously stood soon became engulfed in flames.

"I'm not dying today, and I am not losing you today!" He whispered, manhandling his brother, who became strangely cold.

And these are the last words that my associates attribute to the two last Denouement brothers. It is hard to say if those were really their last words, or their last words to each other. Those who knew them all agree that this argument wouldn't end so soon in a normal situation. If they both managed to make it out of the hotel together, they both would certainly have much more to talk about. Those who knew them also note that Frank had always been awful at fire rescue, and that, ironically, before leaving VFD Ernest was very skillful in that field. Nevertheless, the education both received included hours and hours of fire drills.

Those who knew them also agree that despite their differences, they would never leave the other behind in such a case.

So these perhaps are not the last words they exchanged. No one really knows the fate of the two brothers, but I personally believe that surviving a tragedy like the Denouement fire may cause a feeling of being born again, especially if after it the relationship between the survivor's changed drastically after it, or if the survivors changed their names and moved to a remote location, to never be found again by the danger and treachery that almost took their lives.


End file.
